FIFA reveals World Cup 2026 logo

Unveiled by FIFA President Gianni Infantino alongside Ronaldo Nazário, a legendary two-time World Cup champion, the logo prominently showcases an authentic depiction of the FIFA World Cup trophy in the forefront. Complementing this striking image, the background features the tournament’s year in bold typography.

Notably, this represents the first instance in which the FIFA World Cup Trophy has been incorporated into the official logo.

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In a groundbreaking move, the upcoming World Cup will witness an expansion from 32 teams to 48, and will be jointly hosted by three countries, marking another historic first.

Speaking about this development, Infantino acknowledged the inherent challenges that arise from such an arrangement. He emphasised the logistical complexities associated with hosting the tournament across a vast continent encompassing three substantial nations.

The expansive distances, varied time zones, and diverse climatic conditions pose considerable factors to be considered. The varying altitudes in Mexico and contrasting sea levels in other regions further compound the intricacies.

Given these circumstances, Infantino stressed the significance of establishing an optimal environment to ensure that both teams and fans are afforded the best possible conditions throughout the tournament.

During the unveiling of the official logo and branding for the 2026 World Cup, Infantino announced that teams participating in the expanded tournament would be organised into regional clusters in the early rounds.

This decision has been made to facilitate smoother travel arrangements for the participating teams, considering the vast scale of the 2026 finals.

“Meaning not having to travel too much, especially at the beginning. So we will create some clusters where teams will be based depending on the draw and then they will play their games in that particular cluster.”

Infantino said travel, and the move towards basing teams in regions, had been discussed at a meeting in Doha last week of the 32 coaches involved in last year’s World Cup.

“This was one of the advantages of the World Cup in Qatar, where a player, one hour after the game, was in his bed,” he said.

“(In 2026) there will be some travel involved but we will coordinate that and make sure that it will be the best possible conditions for the teams.”

Infantino meanwhile hopes the tournament can build on the success of the 1994 finals in the United States, which helped establish Major League Soccer in North America.

Asked what he wanted the legacy of 2026 to be, Infantino told AFP: “That soccer will be the number one sport in North America.”

Infantino’s comments were made during FIFA’s extravagant event at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, where they hosted an exclusive gathering for celebrities and former players. The occasion was organized to reveal the official branding for the upcoming 2026 tournament. In attendance was former US international Alexi Lalas, renowned for his notable performances during the 1994 edition of the tournament.

Lalas backed Infantino’s pledge to base teams in regions.

“At the risk of ‘grumpy old-manning it’, it’s not like these guys are sitting in the middle seat in economy on a budget airline or anything,” Lalas told AFP. “They’re on charter aircraft all over the place.

“But having said that, we’re obviously talking about six-hour trips, time-zone changes. For a lot of players around the world that fundamentally changes the competition, so a regional type of situation makes sense.”

(With AFP inputs)